Canadian Consumer Price Inflation and Retail Sales

Canadian consumer prices rose 1.5 per cent in the twelve months to January, a 0.3 point increase from December and the second consecutive month of accelerating inflation.  The Bank of Canada's index of core inflation, which strips out the most volatile components of the CPI, such as food and energy prices, increased 1.4 per cent in January. Consumer prices in BC were unchanged in January on a year-over-year basis.

Canadian retail sales declined 1.8 per cent in December. The decrease was widespread with 9 of 11 retail subsectors reporting falling sales. In inflation-adjusted terms, retail sales declined 2.2 per cent. Although we expect a dip in December GDP due to severe weather in Eastern Canada, fourth quarter economic growth is still tracking close to 3 per cent. 

Retail sales in BC declined 2.2 per cent from a strong November but were 3.2 per cent higher than December 2012. For all of 2013, BC retail sales were up a paltry 1.8 per cent.

Copyright BCREA - reprinted with permission